Stan Wawrinka’s backhand is fast becoming the game’s signature shot.
Many players have their outstanding stroke. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have famed forehands. Serena Williams has her patented serve. Yet few players generate the same excitement and awe with a single shot than Wawrinka is beginning to do with his single-handed slinger.
After playing it to perfection on his way to a stunning defeat of Novak Djokovic in the recent Roland Garros final, spectators are now beginning to anticipate it. You could discern murmurs among the 10,000-strong crowd on No.1 Court when the Swiss star lined it up, and gasps when he unleashed it, frequently for a clean winner.
On Friday against Fernando Verdasco he used that shot judiciously en route to a 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 win, sending him through to the second week at the All England Club for the second straight year.
“It's always been one of my favourite shot, especially along the line,” he said. “I think it start to be special because I'm really strong from the backhand. But especially the power I can put on that shot.
"Normally if you look at people, they have big forehand, and backhand always a little bit more softer. I can always generate a lot of power from that shot. I can go cross. I can mix a lot what I'm going to do with it. Maybe that's the reason why people talk about it.”
It was not so much the fact that the backhand winners were flowing over the course of the one hour, 54-minute match. It was more about when they came. Several times Verdasco appeared to be cruising on serve, only for the Swiss to smite his one-hander, and suddenly a routine game would turn into a struggle.
In fact, it was always a struggle for Verdasco. Theoretically, he could have pushed Wawrinka to the limit. He is a former world No.7 and owns a similarly power-packed game. Like the Swiss, he is a tour veteran who has enjoyed his best results on hard courts and clay. And in the early stages of their third-round match, there was little separating them; both went for broke and whaled the ball, thrilling the fans with their power and explosiveness.
The stark differences came in the areas of consistency and movement. It was obvious that Verdasco was not comfortable when made to run and stretch; gone was the luxury of sliding into shots that clay affords, and he was frequently caught flat-footed – Wawrinka extracted many an error when he got Verdasco on the run.
There were also periods when the Spaniard’s game completely deserted him. It proved costly. Leading 30-0 when serving to stay in the first set, Verdasco then sprayed four forehand errors and threw the game away with a double fault. It was a similar story in the second set; all it took was a lapse from Verdasco for the set to be gone. This time it came in the eighth game, where two double faults and a wild forehand error handed Stan the break for a 5-3 lead. He closed out the set with an ace in the very next game.
Both men had chances to break in the third set. Verdasco gained a 15-40 lead in the second game before Wawrinka escaped, and the Swiss held a break point in the seventh game only for Verdasco to serve his way out of trouble. In the ninth game, Verdasco errors and a patented Wawrinka backhand winner helped the No.4 seed to 15-40, and although Verdasco saved both break points, another double fault – his 12th of the match – gave Wawrinka another chance. He converted it, and never looked back.
“In Grand Slams, you have to win and to win in three sets, it's great. Playing better and better. Serving really well since the beginning of the tournament, being really aggressive. Start to feel more comfortable for moving and in defence also,” Wawrinka said. “Today was really solid match. I'm really happy.”
Next up is No.16 seed David Goffin, whom Wawrinka described as having an “amazing backhand”.
Yet no better than Stan’s. And if that shot continues to click, an even deeper run for the Swiss at the All England Club is a distinct possibility.
